Big World:Small Kittens
by Crazycanadian94
Summary: How could a child end up on a pirates ship? Much less on Whitebeard's Moby Dick. For Misty, well...it was a accident but why and how did she pull that off? Can she learn to survive under their guidance? Could she meet someone like her, one who's looking for a better life? Find out in: Big world, small kittens.
1. Chapter 1

**Small child, Big world.**

It was a cool summer morning on the island called Nano. It was a small harbor town, with fishing and hunting as it's main jobs. People came for the famous fish and meat. Pirates are the main customers for the sellers. As the Whitebeard pirates discovered.

One girl, however, was keeping a fearful eye on them.

Misty had been watching the Whitebeard crew since they docked. She was deathly scared. Hearing about pirates from the newspapers, sailors that was near by and the occasional local gossips; didn't give her the most happy thoughts about them. But this was worse then the smaller bands of pirates. These were the top dogs.

Never in her dreams she would be seeing one of the four emperors docking at the same place that she was at. Misty heard many rumors about them, the things that they would do if they caught you on their turf. She nervously swallowed at the thoughts and continued to stare at the first commander that was walking around the docks.

Marco was very well known in the new world. Not only because of his position as the first division leader but because of his rare devil fruit abilities and fighting skills. Her body shivered at the thoughts just before he glanced at her direction.

Misty ran away as fast as she could before stumbling over her feet. She staggered up to her feet scanning the area to see if she was safe. Misty panted from all that running but she was satisfied that it was safe.

The harbor she ended up in was the loading area. Ships came here to pick up larger crates such as food or medications. Misty was in the closest one near the Whitebeard ship, but it was stuffed to the maximin limit so she couldn't tell.

Tired from a sleepless night before and from all that running, Misty looked for a crate she could sleep in. Finding one was easy for her but getting in was another task. The crates were sealed tight if containing anything fragile. So it was difficult to break in one without leaving evidence that it was broken into.

Luck was on her side though, she found on big enough for her to lay in but it didn't have nails to hold the lid down. Opening it, she saw white sheets for beds and small pillows. Misty smiled and climbed right in, closing the lid behind her.

Curled up in a small ball and let the darkness consumed her. Unaware that it was being loaded on a ship.

*later that night*

The small girl began to wake up. Misty had trouble sleeping at night lately, so she napped whenever she could. Stretching, she fell back. The world felt off balance, as if it was swaying.

Misty decided to get out of the box and see for herself. To her dismay it was pitch black when she got out of the box. She felt around seeing if the touching can tell her something. The rough wood on the floor, the smell of sake and the sounds of waves crashing on the side of the walls made her freeze.

Misty had somehow snuck on board of a ship and was stuck in a storage room.

She continued to crawl out, only to be was cut short when hearing something heading her way. The voices was loud and very slurred, almost drunk-like. A door opened as the light engulfed the darkness, blinding her for a moment.

"Why do we have to go down here?" Someone asked when two people walked in. Misty was on her stomach, listening and watching the men that was coming. "I know I am new but really Thatch, why we're here?" The younger man asked. Thatch chuckled as he appeared to be rummaging through a box.

"Pops want's his favorite sake. He only has this kind once a month." The older man stated. He paused and looked at the younger male. "Marco told you about his habit of sneaking alcohol earlier, so when Pop's ask's for it you know where to get it." Thatch implied with a snort.

Misty swallowed hard, she realized that she was on Whitebeard's ship. Seeing Thatch and the famous 'Fire-fist' confirmed her worst nightmare. She gazed back to the crate where her small satchel was concealed. Maybe she could sneak back in before they would-

"Something up?"

Misty paused when hearing Ace's question. Cautiously moving her head, she noticed Thatch was looking straight at her. He gave her a small smile before looking back at Ace, mouthing something as he got back up. Misty continued to watch the two pirates moving towards the door when alarm bells rung in her small mind when both men glanced back.

They saw her.

Before she could take cover in the box Thatch had started walking towards her as Ace ran out of the room. She knew hiding was useless since he had already seen her so she slowly stood up and backed away from the approaching commander. He stopped walking and continued to observe her from a safe distance. Thatch looked at the box as he scanned back to her.

He grinned at her and crossed his arms. "So thats the box they mentioned that was little bit heavy. Interesting." He stated before taking another step foreword causing her to take another step back. "Take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you, just come to me and-"

Throwing all caution to the wind Misty run to a stack of cargo. Climbing up the boxes was easy for her but not for her purser. Looking down from the top, Thatch was slowly ascending towards her.

"So you want to do it the hard way, eh?" Thatch asked when he looking up to her. "Come'on kid. Just give up so we don't have Marco throwing a fit about the carnage." He grinned.

Misty jumped down and bolted to the unguarded door, causing Thatch to curse out loud.

"Stay here!"

Outside the door was a long hallway with zillions of doors and stairs. It didn't take Misty long to run towards the closest stairs as she heard Thatch running after her. Glancing back, her eyes bulged. Another crew member was with him and he didn't look all that amused and he bolted after her. She closed her eyes and began to change.

Her body became fluffy and covered in fur the was snow white with black hollow like circles witch stand out. Her big tail was lines of black swayed in the air. Her ears became curved lined in black. The cat's legs looked stumpy but gave off the impression that they were powerful.

On her furry four legs, she galloped up the stairs and into the next level of the massive ship. Zipping past confused members, Misty weaved and dodged hands that tried to grab her. Scurrying around the corner she saw a large set of stairs leading to the deck.

Thinking that they're still at the harbor, Misty rapidly scrambled onto the deck. What had greeted her was anything but hope. The mighty Whitebeard was standing in front of her with other pirates. Looking to the horizon was sea and the small speck of an island they had just left.

A yelp escaped her throat when getting away from Whitebeard's attempt to catch her. Backing up to the railing, Misty saw Thatch and a blond man walking up the stairs she had came from. Thatch turned to see her pointing a finger with a smile on his face.

"There's our little stowaway! Looks like she has a devil fruit ability." Thatch stated excitedly. He laughed, "Marco, got any ideas on how we can catch her?" He asked.

Misty took this chance to jump on the railing and run towards the back of the ship because of the cargo and other boxes she could hide in. However Marco jumped in front of the small snow leopard forcing her to a screeching halt. The commander snickered as Misty made her fur stand up, warning him to not come closer. Marco ignored her scare tactic by reaching out to her head with his hand.

Misty lowered her furry head and let a low and dangerous growl escape her throat. Lifting her lips to show Marco her sharp feline teeth she hissed again.

Marco bellowed a amused laugh, "Showing off your shiny teeth is not going to scare me kitty." Crouching to her eye level, his smile widened. "Besides I would be thinking about making another escape route." Chuckling Marco pointed past her, indicating for her to look.

Doing a quick shoulder check, Misty saw Thatch making his way towards them. They were closing in on her and she could only go one way. Back on the deck where many crew members wait to catch her with nets.

She leaped back onto the deck and bolted towards the main mast. Before she could climb up the wooden pole, Vista swung his blade in front of her. He missed on purpose making her dash into another direction. She eventually stop to rest behind a large wooden crate where she thought it was safe.

Reverting back into human form Misty leaned against the box for some air. She was tired from all that running but couldn't let herself be caught. Glancing up she saw Thatch approaching her with Izou.

Misty got up and bolted to hide underneath Whitebeard's large chair. On the way to her new hiding spot, a crew mate stepped in front of her sending her into another direction. Another commander did the same thing with Thatch and several others caught on to use this technique to lure her to their captain's open hand.

Slowly, but surely, the pirates was guiding Misty towards her fleshy cage. Marco came into her path that made her back up and hit Whitebeard's palm. She froze and before she knew it, Whitebeard gently closed his hand. Trapping her.

Misty gave a ear curdling scream from inside her prison. She bite, scratched and kicked the fingers, demanding to come out but was in vain. He just chucked and didn't flinch from her attempts to hurt him. Out of frustration Misty softly cried. She wanted out and wished she had never climbed into the box. Siting down in defeat she wasn't getting out anytime soon unless her captor felt like it.

She could hear the voices of the pirates but couldn't make out the conversation. Thanks to Whitebeard's hand, it acted like a muffler. A very large muffler, unless he was talking as she discovered.

"Fine. Izou, get the food as Vista goes to the nurses and tells them about our current situation." Whitebeard laughed excitedly. "Marco; your in charge of keeping the brat in your line of sight. She'll be quite the hand full in the morning I wager." He chuckled.

Misty froze at this information. They were keeping her!? She closed her eyes tightly and let out a painful sob. She didn't want this. All she did was crawl into a box and fell asleep, not wander on the ship to be with some random crew. Never mind pirates.

The fingers around her curled out as he tossed the small girl into a brightly lit room. Flying in the air the small girl shrieked while making headway to the empty bed. Landing on her back on the soft mattress then bouncing off to the wooden floor. Sitting back up Misty rubbed her lower back from the impact of the ground.

"Ow..." Misty softly said to herself. The creaking sound of a door closing caught her attention. "No! Please!" She yelled as she scrambled to the closing door. Marco's legs was the last thing she saw before it had finally closed.

Misty screamed before pounding the slab of wood senseless. "Let me out! Just let me out! Please, I don't wanna stay here!" Begging as she started to cry. Misty hit the door a few more times with her fists. "I didn't mean to get on your ship...it...was an accident." She mumbled softly.

Misty leaned against the door before finally sliding down in defeat. Looking at her bruised hands from all her pounding she did caused her to sigh. It'll be one long night for her. She decided to stand up and look at the room she was confined to.

It was rather large but it was obvious it wasn't used, judging from the boxes and cobwebs that was near the ceiling. A bowl caught her attention that was sitting on a small table near by with the smell of chicken in the air, it lured her to walk towards it.

Looking at the food Misty's stomach was growling for it. She hadn't eaten for awhile now, so this was very tempting. Ignoring the small voice in her head, she wolfed down the food in seconds. Misty finished the meal with the crackers she had found before she walked towards the boxes that was next to the table.

Misty noticed a small window above the boxes, a perfect escape route. She started to walk towards the mountain of cargo stacked up. As she started to climb, her vision began to blur and felt her eyes grow heavy. Misty began to lose her balance because of the rocking waves against the ship. One large wave had hit the side causing her to fall backwards and hit the floor.

She rubbed her eyes before rolling over on her stomach. Misty mustered all her strength to get into a crawling position. A clicking sound brought her attention to the door, it opened as Misty fell on her stomach again but gazed up to see Marco and Thatch at the doorway.

Thatch chuckled when noticing Misty's tired eyes widen. "It appears the plan has worked." He paused; giving a glimpsed at Marco. "We have to take her to the nurses after she falls asleep, correct?" He asked Marco that started to walk towards the small girl. Marco gave a brief nod before he focused back on Misty.

Misty desperately tried to crawl away from the approaching blond commander. This action caused both men to laugh because of her awkward movement and the fact she fell down twice.

Thatch shook his head and let out a sigh. "You would think the kid would given up by now." Thatch commented at her determination to get away.

"For some yes." Marco answered calmly. He smiled when Misty stopped moving, he took the chance and scooped up the very sleepy girl. "But it just takes a longer time to tire her out." Marco added as he got up with Misty.

Misty wiggled and squirmed in Marco's strong arms. He was holding her in a bridle style and his grip was not letting her go anytime soon. Weakly she tried to push away Marco by placing her hands on his chest. But alas...it was in vain.

"Let me go." Misty muttered sleepily. A large yawn escaped her throat with the unbearable urge to sleep. She strained to keep her eyes to be open but she was losing the fight.

Marco chuckled and leaned into her ear. "Shush little one, close your eyes." He paused when she let out a groan and rubbed her eyes. "Goodnight." He whispered softly before he shifted her to a position that allowed her sleep on his shoulder.

The two men smiled contently at the little stowaway. She had finally began to sleep peacefully on his shoulder. Her breathing was slowing down with each passing minute, snuggling into his neck for warmth. Marco chuckled as he heard her purring when rubbing her small back.

Shaking his head, Thatch let out a deep sigh. "Wonder how she'll be in the morning?" He pondered out loud.

Marco looked back at his friend, smirking at the question. "Anything but pleasant."


	2. Chapter 2

**Surprise, surprise!**

* * *

Misty slowly rolled over to her side and gradually open her eyes. She never had such a good sleep, since she's been playing 'stowaway' for the past year. Moving around she noticed something wasn't quite right with her left arm. It felt like a sharp barb was constantly poking at her. Looking at the limb in question she saw a IV in her arm, connecting to a fluid bag. Before she could pull the needle out, Misty heard the sound of a moving curtain.

Glancing up, a young woman wearing a pink nurse uniform appeared from behind the curtain. At first, the nurse didn't notice Misty was awake because she seemed to be busy with reading paperwork that was on the clipboard. So when the nurse looked up, she finally became aware of the girl's awakened state.

"You're awake!" Smiling, the nurse turned around and called out her comrade. "Dr. Auru, she's awake!"

_'Doctor?'_ Misty took in what the nurse just had said._ 'I'm not on the ship anymore?'_

Her confusion deepened as a older man, dressed in a white coat, entered from behind the curtain. She silently observed the man. Assessing his appearance and every move.

He seemed to be a grandfather type figure, from the maze of age lines and stark white hair on his head. His cool blue gray eyes, glowed against his dark brown skin with the white, crisp, doctors coat that he was wearing. He didn't rush his movements. Instead he took slow, calculating, easy going gestures.

In short; he didn't pose any threat on the girl.

Chuckling at Misty's scrutinizing gaze, the doctor finally spoke. "Good morning little one."

Dr. Auru slowly sat down next to Misty, examining her with his ghost like eyes. Smiling, Auru introduced himself. "I'm Doctor Auru and this is my assistant," Gesturing to the younger women behind him, he continued. "Sasha."

Sasha gave Misty a small welcoming wave, making the little girl smile. "Would you be alright if we perform a check up?" She asked. "We just want to make sure that you're healthy. Does that sound okay?"

Misty thought it over and nodded. After all, she wasn't on the ship anymore, so why not.

"Excellent!" Auru smiled again as he began to take out her IV needle. "Lets get this out and start the exam." He said with cheer in his voice. Wincing from the discomfort of the needle being removed, Misty looked away. The doctor chuckled at her small reaction while asking,"Afraid of needles?"

Blurting out loud, Misty answered the doctor. "Kinda."

Sasha giggled at her sudden answer. "Well…Isn't she a honest one?" She quipped before adding. "We're not going to do blood samples this time, so don't worry about it."

Misty blushed from Sasha's comment but she was happy to hear that they weren't going to be using needles. This time. Hopefully never. The girl's blush deepened when Auru picked her up, causing the doctor to chuckle. As he carried Misty to a padded bed, she took the chance to look around.

Charts of bodies, hearts and other medical related pictures covered the old wooden walls. Tables, beds and other medical equipment littered the room as far as the eye could see. A full scale skeleton which was hanging by a cord from the ceiling, stood out for Misty. She never seen human bones, much less certain animals from the north blue.

It was…amazing.

Misty's attention went back to the doctor when he tapped her shoulder. He laughed softly at her saddened gaze and patted her head. "You can touch it when we're done, but for now," Trailing off, Auru took Sasha's clip board and asked,"Can you tell me your name and birthday?"

Misty answered shyly. "Everyone calls me Misty." After he wrote that down, she added. "My birthday is on December twenty first."

Humming at the answer, the doctor glanced up as he put the clip board down. Taking out his stethoscope, he placed the ear tips in his ears. He then took the diaphragm and put it on Misty's upper back, left side. "Breath in through you mouth once for me." He asked. She nodded and took in a deep breath. Nodding, Auru moved it to the right side and repeated the process.

"Lungs sound clear." The doctor said after a long pause. He then positioned the diaphragm above her heart, listening to the rhythmic beats. He smiled. "And a very healthy heartbeat." Removing his stethoscope, he began asking his assistant to write down number that didn't make any sense to Misty. So she tuned it out, ignoring what they were asking or saying.

After that, they began performing other tests. Checking her eyesight, hearing, reflexes and other basic testing. This kind of testing was perfect for Misty. No pain, needles, or need for blood. She liked that. That is, until they decided to see how much she weighed. Misty knew the minute she stood on the scale, it wasn't good.

Sasha sighed. "She's 65lbs." After writing the number down, she slowly shook her head. "Ideally; she should be 70-73lbs, since she's 4'5ft." She said dryly.

"Indeed, but we can fix that." Auru reassured as he walked over to Misty, smiling warmly at her. "Regular meals at a regular schedule will make a difference. Right now, her body is burning off food at a fast rate because of irregular meal times." Picking up the small girl, Auru nuzzled her neck getting Misty to giggle. "She'll gain weight in no time." He said while walking over to his desk.

Misty rested her head on his shoulder. Listening to the two medical professionals chatting, assuming to each other. She didn't pay attention to them, until one voice pulled her back to reality.

"So all she needs is a proper meal, some extra snacks and exercise till her weight's back to normal."

Misty shot up from the docs shoulder, locking her eyes on Marco. The pirate commander who captured her the night before, one that lives on the famous Moby Dick. The very same one that was standing three feet away and next to Sasha.

Watching the small girl with his very wide grin, Marco snickered. "We meet again, eh?"

Misty didn't answer him. Instead she bolted sideways, making the doctor let go from her sudden and forceful movement. Landing on the floor and narrowly dodging Sasha's hands, she made a beeline for the side door at a very high speed.

Too much speed.

She tripped when her right foot caught on her other leg, landing in a face plant. Before she could get away Sasha caught hold of her tattered shirt, pulling her back into the nurses arms. Misty thrashed her legs wildly. Trying to throw herself out of the women's hold with all her might. She only stopped moving when the commander spoke.

"Interesting."

Misty shot back Marco a evil glare as he continued talking. "She's acting like a small wild animal. Unpredictable, skittish, flighty and very feisty." He chuckled. "I'll have fun 'taming' this one." Smiling at the thoughts that ran through his head, Marco added. "Heck, I won't get burned or worry that Pops might send her through the wall. That'll make my day."

Misty raised a eyebrow at him. What did he mean by that? Burned? Why would he worry about getting a burn when she can't start a fire. Her silent question was answered by the doctor.

"Ace set you aflame?" Chuckling and folding his arms, Auru asked another question. "And if he did, why would you care?"

Misty gave Auru a very puzzling expression before looking back at Marco. _'Ace...set him on fire?'_ Pondering on that thought, she narrowed her eyes. _'Why would anyone try to burn each other?' _ Trailing off and tilting her head to the side, Misty deliberated again. _'And if he was burned, how come I can't see any burn scars?'_

He merely shrugged his shoulders in response while observing the small girl. His mischievous smile sent shivers down her spine. She had a bad feeling about this.

"I'll share the story some other time." He said while lazily walking over towards the girls. "For now, I'll get this little one some lunch and show her my room." Chuckling, Marco's amusement added when seeing Misty's eyes widen.

Whimpering as the commander approached them, Misty buried her face into the nurses shoulder. She didn't want to go with him or with anyone that'll take her to other pirates. She simply wanted to be left alone.

"Awe, it's alright little one." Sasha reassured while rubbing her back. "Are you scared?" She asked sweetly. When the girl silently answered by nodding, Sasha gave her a comforting hug. "Marco's never going to hurt or let anyone harm you. He'll protect you." Shifting Misty to face her, Sasha's smile softened. "He's going to take you for lunch before heading off to his room. That's where you'll be sleeping till we make a room for you. Okay?"

Misty shook her head in disagreement shortly after burying into Sasha's shoulder again. She tightened her grip when feeling large hands clasping around her waist. Misty's fear heightened as she felt Sasha let go of her and being pulled backwards. She refused to let go but Sasha's shirt escaped her small hands, leaving Misty to whoever was holding her.

"Close but no cigar." Marco snickered as he spun her around. "Sorry, but you'll be stuck with me for awhile." Smiling at her pout, Marco ruffled her hair with his hand. "Isn't she a ray of sunshine?" He sarcastically asked, causing Auru to snort from his remark.

Misty rolled her eyes while hearing Sasha giggle. She then tried prying Marco's arm that was locked around her waist as Auru talked. "Not now, but she might later on. We just have to gain her trust and acceptance." Snickering at Misty's feeble attempts of making Marco's arm to let go, he added. "You on the other hand, might have a harder time on the last bit."

Marco chuckled at the doctor, playfully answering him. "Just a wee bit, but otherwise a good reason for trying." Humming to himself, the commander looked down at the girl. Her eyes locked on his and for some reason, it sent a small shiver down his spine. The same type of shiver he experienced when he first saw her.

_'Those eyes.'_ He silently thought while she continued to stare him back. Marco has seen many different colored eyes, but never like Misty's. The haunting cool, light gray highlights that intensify her icy, cold, pale aqua-blue eyes. It was...unsettling. The only thing he could compare that feeling when looking in another's eye was a corpse. Lifeless. No fire, just...cold as a steel blade. Nothing.

_'Amazing.'_ He mused inwardly as Misty broke away from his gaze. Marco took the chance and began walking away. Whines of protest from his new companion could be heard but it was ignored.

Soon, she'll like him.

Even if it meant a few scratches on the way.


End file.
